ANDREWS AND QUEENSLAND RACING HEADING BACK TO COURT?

THE decision by Queensland Racing to use the same recruitment agency at the centre of the previous Board election controversy could see the matter back in the Supreme Court soon.

Our mail suggests that lawyers for Board member Bill Andrews will return to court to object to the fresh election process being conducted by the same recruitment agency.

The news is spreading throughout the industry which is far from impressed at the almost certain outlay of more industry funds fighting a racing legal battle.

There is also strong speculation that the new list will again contain only the four original names. This has infuriated those supporting the Andrews fight.

We find this impossible to believe in the light of the findings handed down in the Supreme Court civil action by Judge Margaret Wilson.

Our understanding is the major difference that will apply to the process this time around will see no limit on the short-list of prospective Board candidates with the likelihood it will include seven or more.

 

QR CHAIRMAN HAS PROMISED TO PROVIDE A LIST OF LEGAL COSTINGS

QUEENSLAND Racing Board chairman Bob Bentley has again been called on to provide the cost to the industry of legal battles and consultancies over the past five or six years.

Here’s a précised example:

‘I have been following the QRL waste of money on legal fees. What I want to know is why can Bob the Builder (Bentley) spend money at will on legals when all he has to do is use the constitution in the spirit of what is best for racing instead of what is best for Neville (Stewart)and Wayne (Milner).

‘Bill Andrews had the guts to ask the hard questions and I see they wanted to know who put money up for his legal costs. I wish I knew him because I would have and I may even make myself known to him and donate anyway.

‘These guys at QR have too much power with little or no checks on what they are up to. I have grave reservations about the role Bentley is playing when Stewart is involved.

‘The Government should ask the industry: Do we want these guys to stay?  Everyone I know wants them to go.

‘I can assure you that I speak to a lot of people in the industry and they feel very frustrated at not being able to see what is going on and not being taken into account when issues arise.

‘God help us if Stewart takes over from BB.  Dracular owns the blood bank then.

‘I live with the belief that good will eventually prevail in racing.

'I want to ask Bentley specifically:

1. How much has been spent on legal fees in the life of this Board and specifically on what cases?
2. Could the fees be avoided if he negotiated?
3. When do they intend to sack (QR legal counsel) Shara Murray, not if?

‘I am sickened by all of this and to see a guy like Andrews maligned by BB and his cohorts is disgusting. I only get my info at the races and from websites like yours.

‘The Courier-Mail has been conspicuous by its silence in all of this. What is going on?”- Arthur Hawke.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have spoken to QR chairman Bentley who has promised us a detailed list of money spent on legal costs, consultancies etc. We are yet to receive this but Mr Bentley has been busy with Melbourne Cup carnival commitments in his other role as chairman of the Australian Racing Board. We will follow it up with him early next week.

 

RAZOR RIDES THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS AND HAS A BIT EACH-WAY

A COUPLE of e-mails were received concerning a statement made in State Parliament by Shadow Racing Minister, Ray Stevens, which we have been able to secure.

Here is one of those e-mails:

“I am told that Ray Stevens had a chop at Bob Bentley in Parliament over the Supreme Court action won by Bill Andrews. I cannot understand why there has been no coverage of this in The Courier-Mail.

“Could you possibly obtain a copy of what Mr Stevens had to say and publish it on your website? I was concerned to learn that apart from giving QR and Bentley a serve, Mr Stevens endorsed Neville Stewart as an ideal Board candidate, which I find quite amazing. Can you confirm if that is true?” – Name with-held on request.

Here’s what Mr Stevens had to say (under privilege) in State Parliament:

‘I rise tonight to bring to the attention of the House the recent election process of the Queensland Racing Board. The QRB has botched the election process for new Board members to the extent of costing the racing industry $400,000.

‘This is the result of the Supreme Court judgment that was handed down in the civil action taken against QR by former Board member, Mr Bill Andrews.

‘Mr Andrews was deemed to be not an appropriate candidate by the independent consultant charged with supplying a short-list from which industry participants would vote for replacement Board members. This is despite Mr Andrews being a Board member for the last four years and his legal, business and racing expertise not being in question. It smells like a set-up, it looks like a set-up, it sounds like a set-up and Justice Wilson confirmed it was.

‘It is a sad day for racing when a respected figure such as Mr Bill Andrews has to resort to the courts to prove that he has been manifestly mal-treated by QR and risk thousands of dollars to protect his reputation.

‘Queensland racing is an industry that contributes significantly to the Queensland economy and the Board of QR needs to have the expertise to continue the development of the industry for future generations.

‘It has been reported that a new election process will be started almost immediately and that it will be with the 26 original applicants, with no new ones able to apply. Who would want to apply anyway?

‘The chairman of QR, Mr Bob Bentley, has some explaining to do to the industry. The chairman of QR needs to take a step back and stop interfering with the process and selection of the candidates.

‘There is a process that should be followed according to the requirements under the policies and procedures in place and this should be adhered to. However, this is just another broken cog in the racing administration wheel being driven almost exclusively by its dominant chairman-cum-executive director, Mr Bob Bentley.

‘I WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS NO WAY A REFLECTION ON THE EXCELLENT CANDIDATES WHO PUT THEIR NAMES FORWARD. THE TWO HOT-POT FAVORITES TOUTED TO WIN ARE MR MILNER AND MR STEWART, WHO HAVE BOTH GIVEN STERLING SERVICE TO THE THOROUGHBRED INDUSTRY IN THEIR PREVIOUS ROLES.

‘But I cannot let this sorry episode for racing pass without highlighting the flawed process being engineered under the responsibility of the chairman of QR.

‘I ask the Minister for Racing to earn his Ministerial salary, rather than paying lip-service to the industry, by reigning in the unfettered power of the Chairman/Executive Director of QR, Mr Bob Bentley, and taking Ministerial responsibility for the industry he is in charge of.’

 

COMEDY DOUBLE-ACT DOING THE RACING MINISTERIAL WALTZ

WE also received a couple of e-mails from angry industry observers who took the trouble to read the statement of Ray Stevens on the Parliamentary Hansard web-site.

Here is what one had to say:

‘What a pathetic double-act we have as Racing Minister and Shadow Racing Minister in Queensland. It’s almost like a scene from the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’ but that was meant to be a comedy.

‘Lawlor hears no evil, sees no evil and spends most of his time sitting on his hands were racing is concerned. Every couple of months the good ole boys let Stevens out of his cage and he throws a barrage of punches at Bentley but fails to land a direct hit.

‘He made his attack on QR and Bentley just before midnight. The only time he’s allowed to rant and rave about racing in Parliament is just before midnight when most have gone home, the rest are asleep and those who bother to listen are hoping that when the clock strikes he turns into a pumpkin.

‘It looks like the Liberal Party hierarchy has told him what to say about their old mate Neville Stewart. All of a sudden Neville is the best thing since sliced bread with Razor – quite a back-flip from one of his previous attacks – almost as good as the ones Peter Beattie used to perform.

‘They don’t call him Even Stevens for nothing – having a bit each-way has always been his specialty! But that’s an insult to the name of a great horse.

“I just had a terrifying thought – Queensland Racing of the future – Neville Stewart as Board chairman and Ray Stevens as Racing Minister. That’s not a dream – it’s a nightmare!” - Greg Seeney, Harvey Bay.

 

SHADE OF HYPOCRASY IN THE EL-ISSA SUSPENSION SUGGESTED

THE three month suspension of ‘bad boy’ jockey Bobby El-Issa for betting on races and making false statements was a hot topic in the e-mail box in the past week.

Here is an example:

‘Stewards can’t be naïve enough to believe that Bobby El-Issa is the only jockey who has a bet? He was just unfortunate enough to get caught. Most are not silly enough to place their own bets. Many have punters who bet for them. Jockeys traditionally are bad judges.

‘What I find most annoying about the El-Issa situation is that stewards allegedly turned a blind eye to a prominent racing journalist running bets from the jockeys’ room for years. And we are talking about a high profile journalist and some high profile stewards.

‘It makes a mockery of the Sherlock Holmes-style tactics used to track El-Issa down when he was having a few dollars on a good thing at Yeppoon. That’s where the kangaroos jump across the track in front of race fields, isn’t it?

“A good friend of mine, who was a prominent official, raised this issue of a racing journalist having free access to the jockeys’ room, unchallenged by stewards, for a number of years but his concerns fell on deaf ears – from the Board, stewards and race club officials. Makes the El-Issa situation look a shade hypocritical in my opinion!’ – Fred from Marburg.